Restaurant guest checks are often hand written and totalled. In a typical arrangement, food purchases are recorded on the face of the check, liquor purchases on the back and the total amounts of food and liquor are added up and a grand total indicated near the bottom of the face of the check. In some cases both food and liquor purchases are recorded in the same area on the face of the check. Some restaurant checks are partially printed. Such checks may include, for example, a printed itemization of food purchases on the face of the check and a hand written record of liquor purchases on the back of the check. Typically the total of food purchases and a total of liquor purchases are added by hand on the face of the check.
Itemized printed hotel bills listing all charges are known. Such bills are invariably organized on a day-by-day basis, listing all charges, e.g. room, restaurant, telephone and tax for each day, with a grand total printed at the bottom of the itemized listing. All charges are listed in a single area, and there is no subtotal of charges of a particular type (telephone charges for example). Computer-generated supermarket cash register receipts are also known. These list all items in random order (i.e. in the order in which the items are checked out), listing the category of each (e.g., produce, meats, paper goods). Such receipts give the sub-total of taxable items and the sales tax due, as well as the total price of all items purchased.
Restaurant guest checks in which both food and alcoholic beverage purchases are computer printed are also known but not in widespread use. Each item is listed on a separate line. Typically all items in one category (say Food) are listed first, followed by all items in another category (say liquor). All purchases, both food and liquor, are listed in a single section. Such a check typically has no detachable portions other than a customer's receipt, which is optional, at the bottom.
Whether a restaurant check is entirely hand written or partially or entirely printed, it is invariably presented on an individual sheet of paper which, in the case of the partially printed check, must be individually loaded into the cash register for printing. This piece of paper is usually devoid of any perforations, although in some cases there is a tearoff stub, which serves as a customer receipt, at the bottom of the paper. The total bill is hand written on this stub. More often than not, the check consists of a single section, devoid of any perforations and the customer gets no receipt other than a copy of his credit card slip or (if he requests it) a hand written slip or machine printed cash register tape.
A further disadvantage of present restaurant checks is that they are flat, and presented face up, so that others at the table besides the payer may read the total amount.
An object of this invention is to provide a check for goods or services in which purchases in different categories (food and liquor, for example) are printed in different portions of the check which are separated by perforations.
It is another object of this invention to provide a guest check which can be sectioned into several parts to serve as receipts for different services.
Another object of this invention is to provide a guest check on which all food purchases are listed on one portion of the check, all alcoholic beverage purchases are listed on another portion of the check, and the grand total on a third portion of the check which is capable of serving as a customer receipt.
Another object of this invention is to provide a guest check in which each of the several portions can be sequentially numbered for future receipt retrieval.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a guest check that is foldable for attractive appearance and discreet presentation to the customer.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a guest check which can be fed through and printed by a standard tractor feed computer printer.
According to one aspect of this invention there is provided a multiple portion check for goods or services (e.g. a restaurant guest check) comprising:
(a) perforations dividing said check into at least three (3) portions, including a first section for containing a first set of printed indicia (e.g., a list of items purchased in a first category such as food), a second portion for containing a second set of printed indicia (e.g., a list of items purchased in a second category such as alcoholic beverages), and a third portion for listing the total price of all items purchased;
(b) at least one of the first two portions containing printed indicia listing the items purchased in one category;
(c) the third portion containing printed indicia giving the total price of all items purchased.
According to another aspect of this invention there is provided a long continuous multiple section paper sheet comprising a plurality of blank checks for goods or services, said sheet being divided into a plurality of blank checks by transversely extending linear weakened portions, each of said blank checks having perforations dividing said check into at least three portions, including a first portion for containing a first set of printed indicia, a second portion for containing a second set of printed indicia and a third portion for listing the total price of all items purchased. The preferred sheet is a tractor feed sheet which is accordion folded along the transversely extending weakened portions and which includes a tractor feed strip along at least one lateral edge.